Should Disney Make A Broadway Musical About Walt Disney?

Since Disney Theatrical Productions started doing broadway musicals since they did Beauty and the Beast to Frozen, I think maybe this be a perfect time for DIsney doing something original for once. Maybe that's why they keep losing the Tony Awards Best Musical exception for The Lion King. Why not make a broadway musical about Walt Disney. Eva Peron got her own musical, Evita, P.T. Barnim got his own musical, Barnum and movie musical Greatest Showman, Alexander Hamilton got his own musical, Hamilton, and there's going to be a musical about Princess Diana pretty soon. I know some of you will think it's stupid, but I think Walt Disney's life would make a great broadway musical, if done right. They should ask like Alan Menken or Paul and Pasek as composers of a musical about Walt Disney. There is one musical I found that is about Walt Disney, When You Wish, except it's not made by Disney and I don't know if it'll come to Broadway. Anyway, I think Disney Theatrical Productions should make a broadway musical about the life of Walt Disney. There's a video did the take of the songs from Greatest Showman called The Disney Showman.

I've never thought about a Walt Broadway play before, but sometimes I have daydreamed about a Walt official animated Disney movie. It would be more about "Uncle Walt", that friendly persona of Walt that may have not been entirely true of his real life. It would be musical, of course. It would end not with his death, but with the opening of Disneyland and his running with the kids into Fantasyland, like seen in that clip that plays on the TVs at 50's Prime Time Cafe. But I'm afraid a lot of folks may be against both of our ideas, because when one guy on another Disney forum suggested making Walt a meet and greet character out at the parks, just about everybody but me balked at the idea.

Advertisement

I've never thought about a Walt Broadway play before, but sometimes I have daydreamed about a Walt official animated Disney movie. It would be more about "Uncle Walt", that friendly persona of Walt that may have not been entirely true of his real life. It would be musical, of course. It would end not with his death, but with the opening of Disneyland and his running with the kids into Fantasyland, like seen in that clip that plays on the TVs at 50's Prime Time Cafe. But I'm afraid a lot of folks may be against both of our ideas, because when one guy on another Disney forum suggested making Walt a meet and greet character out at the parks, just about everybody but me balked at the idea.

Click to expand...

Thank you for being honest, but I don't see why is bad idea. I think making a broadway musical about Walt Disney will be a great idea, if it's done right.

In my opinion, the best thing would be to perhaps pick a portion of Walt Disney's life and do a musical based on that. I would love to see one based on the building of Disneyland and that period of his life(think of the amazing sets!).

His life is probably too rich to have one musical which covers everything from start to finish, and does it well.

I've never thought about a Walt Broadway play before, but sometimes I have daydreamed about a Walt official animated Disney movie. It would be more about "Uncle Walt", that friendly persona of Walt that may have not been entirely true of his real life. It would be musical, of course. It would end not with his death, but with the opening of Disneyland and his running with the kids into Fantasyland, like seen in that clip that plays on the TVs at 50's Prime Time Cafe. But I'm afraid a lot of folks may be against both of our ideas, because when one guy on another Disney forum suggested making Walt a meet and greet character out at the parks, just about everybody but me balked at the idea.

Click to expand...

I keep hearing about how the company will never allow for a walk-around Walt to appear in the parks. Which is why I was surprised when the cast someone to play him in that one parade years ago.

I think the key is that The Walt Disney Company is very particular about how Walt is portrayed. They will never produce anything that sheds any kind of bad light on him. Even in Saving Mr. Banks they had some stipulations about not showing Walt smoking. Any biopic, musical or not, if produced by Disney will not tell the whole story. Of course, even Walt himself understood that there was a difference in Walt Disney the man and Walt Disney the character, or "Uncle Walt." He once noted, “I do things that Walt Disney wouldn’t do: Walt Disney doesn’t smoke. I smoke. Walt Disney doesn’t drink. I drink.” He had a complex life, but an amazing one!